White House

Senate GOP Resistant to Susan Rice as Secretary of State

Republican Senators indicated resistance on Tuesday to U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice as a candidate to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Both Rice and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry are considered top picks for the job, but The New York Times and the Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Rice is favored.

If Rice is tapped, she could face a tough confirmation battle after saying in multiple television appearances earlier this year that the attack that killed four Americans in Libya was spontaneous, rather than a terrorist act.

GOP strategists told the LA Times that lawmakers would use Rice’s nomination to zoom in on the administration’s handling of the attack.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., told the Times he considers Rice “tainted” by her role in the administration’s response to Benghazi, while Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Rice’s initial comments were “beyond belief.”

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"I still don't know how anybody of that capacity could have been on television five days later saying the things that were said," Corker told the Times. "I don't know how that could happen."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on Wednesday on CBS that Rice was “not qualified” to be Secretary of State.